What is wilson silverleaf? We're organitarians; it's best for our bodies and the planet. We cloth diapered Nina for the same reason. We drive a hybrid car & wish we could afford solar panels on our house. I'm a strong advocate for homebirth, full-time mom, & also a movie junkie. We don't have a tv though; we watch dvds on our computer. We love contradancing. I garden & knit; Larry's a puzzle lover & plays fantasy football.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

If you love compartments in your handbag (is there anyone who doesn't?), then the Butler Bag is for you. It's also a very handsome bag, simple and classic. Read more about it at Popgadget. I don't have one but would seriously consider shelling out the dough if I hadn't already just bought a bag I'm pretty happy with.

Well, don't get too excited about it. It's the symbol for food that's been irradiated. I bet if we try really hard we can come up with more ways to serve the masses dead food, all the while making it look nice.

Personally, if you have the money for a nanny, it's silly not to cloth diaper (well, I think it's silly not to cloth diaper if you have your own washer and dryer). After all, if you can pay someone to change and wash diapers, what's the holdup? I personally never minded doing either, but washing them is the stumbling block for a lot of people.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

I have dirty blonde hair, so I'm not sure I would notice if I was going gray, but I had an eyelash that was bothering me all day, sticking in my eye. I finally plucked it out with a tweezer, and it was gray. An eyelash. Gray. Growing all weird, interfering with the normal operation of my eyelid. WTF????? Did I mention that I will be 35 soon?

Our family has been trying to avoid items made in China for a while--mostly for human rights reasons, but also because China's environmental record is ATROCIOUS. The recent recalls of children's items with lead paint only reinforces our convictions. We are not perfect, but consciousness is helpful when making purchasing decisions. It can tip the scales against buying something significantly. And now there is a new blog that will help us make those buying decisions; go check out notchinamade.net. They're also having a contest; you can win a 50$ gift certificate to American Apparel, which makes wonderful t-shirts (I'm wearing one right now), 100% made in the USA. They also have an organic cotton line of clothing.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

We swaddled Nina pretty aggressively when she was an infant, it really helped her sleep. She was carrying a blanket around the other day and I asked her if she wanted me to swaddle her. She said yes, and once it was done, she thought it was really funny. Pretty cute.

We were eating dinner outside the other night when one of the dogs (sugar, the pit bull mix) ran over to the big pine tree and sat expectantly under it for about 10 minutes, whimpering and barking intermittently. Finally we went over to see what it was, and, sure enough, we had an uninvited guest. It's hard to see, but we had a masked guest of the raccoon type. It just sat there, unperturbed, for who knows how long.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

We have found a really good solution to our soy milk problem (well, Larry's, I don't generally eat cereal so don't need milk, though I just ordered some genuine organic Grape Nuts...mmmm...what was I talking about?). Oh yeah...organic, unroasted peanuts are fairly inexpensive, though not as cheap as organic soybeans, but they make some pretty good milk from our our soy milk maker. And since the ones that are least expensive are the ones with the red skin still on them, the milk turns out slightly pink, pretty! It has a slight peanut taste, and is rich without being oily. Who out there has already gone a step further and wonders how yummy peanut milk would be as chocolate milk?

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

It's a good idea to get help when you are putting sunscreen on your back.Nina and I walk most Monday mornings at the beach (by which I mean that I walk with Nina on my back). Recently it has been too nice there to give up a good parking space and leave to go to playgroup. So we spend the morning playing in the sand and water and trying not to eat too much gritty food. It's worth the risk, and those hours go a long way for reminding me why we pay more than half our income on houseing.

Someone at Larry's work organized a trip on July 14 to Ensenada, which is in Baja; the bus left at 7:30 am, it was a bit brutal. We stopped in Rosarita for a half an hour on the beach, we should have told them to leave us there, it was so beautiful and the sand was so fine. We found some barnacles to check out and a sand dollar.Another stop on the way, it was a beautiful scenic lookout.The rest of the day was anticlimactic, the food at the restaurant we ate at was mediocre, and the cheap crap on the tourist drag was depressingly...cheap. Lots of drunk people, and the water coconut we paid...I'm embarrassed to tell how much...for was soapy tasting. But it was a nice way to be able to go to Mexico with someone else driving and getting us over the border, which was a breeze and fairly quick, and we all slept in the bus on the way home. Nina was a real champ for pretty much the whole trip, long bus ride and all. We're totally keeping her.

I love cooking with collard greens; I find that I can hide them in food and my family is none the wiser. They don't seem to have a strong taste to me, though I've heard people complain about it.After I chiffonade the greens I put them in the food processor with the cheese layer for lasagne. I use cottage cheese because I don't care for store bought ricotta, and an egg or two. After a minute or two in the food processor, it turns out nice and smooth.What a wonderful treat. We have been eating outside most nights, it's a real luxury. Though it's mostly shady in the afternoon, the back yard gets some fading sun(set)light at dinnertime that is fantastic for taking pictures.

One of my favorite summer meals is stuffed patty pan squashes, these beauties came from the lovely people at La Milpa Organica Farm.*patty pan squash (one per person if it's a side dish/two or three if it's the main course)*half an onion/a whole onion, chopped*olive oil, coconut oil, or butter, for sauteeing, be generous*juice of half/whole lemon*quarter/half of a bunch of parsley, chopped finely*bread crumbs--not sure how much, I used six or eight slices of toast in this meal, made into crumbs in the food processor*grated cheese, optional about a half a cup or so

Slice patty pans in half, along the place where it has the biggest circumfrence, so that the edges are wavy. If it will make them lie flatter, slice a little off of the top (where the squash was attached to the plant) and the bottom (where the blossom fell off). Scoop the seeds out of both halves with a tea or soup spoon, deep enough so that you make a big enough depression to stuff, but not so deep that you scoop out the bottom and make a hole in it (though if you make a hole, it's ok, use it anyway). Preheat oven to 350. Put all the halves in a steamer, and steam for about 10 minutes, until the squash are slightly soft, but not mushy. Sautee the onions and squash seeds, breaking up the seeds with a flipper (spatula?), stirring, until they are very soft, at least as long as the other parts are steaming. Season with salt, remove from heat, and add bread crumbs, lemon, parsley, and cheese. Stuff into squash halves loosely but firmly, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the cheese is slightly melted. Enjoy!